Schoolhouse Rock - Grammar Rock

Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla

Music: Bob Dorough
Lyrics: Kathy Mandary
Sung by: Jack Sheldon
Animation: Kim and Gifford Productions
Now I have a friend named Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla,
And I could say that "Rufus found a kangaroo
That followed Rufus home
And now that kangaroo belongs...
To Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla."
Whew! I could say that, but I don't have to!
Because I got pronouns, I can say,
"He found a kangaroo that followed him home
And now it is his."
You see, "he", "him" and "his" are pronouns
Replacing the noun "Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla",
A very proper noun,
And "it" is a pronoun replacing the noun "kangaroo"!
Now come on...
Now Rufus has a sister named Rafaella Gabriela Sarsaparilla,
If she found a kangaroo I'd say to you
"She found a kangaroo that followed her home
And now it is hers."
But I can't say that...
'Cause she found an aardvark
That fell in love with her and they're so happy.
And my name is Albert Andreas Armadillo
{No relation to the Sarsaparillas...}
Because of pronouns I can say
"I wish she would find a rhinoceros for me,
And we'd be happy."
You see, a pronoun was made to take the place of a noun.
'Cause saying all those nouns over and over
Can really wear you down.
Now I could tell you "Rafaella Gabriela
and Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla and
Albert Andreas Armadillo found
An aardvark, a kangaroo and a rhinoceros.
And now that aardvark and that kangaroo
And that rhinoceros belong respectively to:
Rafaella Gabriela Sarsaparilla
And Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla
And Albert Andreas Armadillo."
Whew! Because of pronouns I can say, in this way,
"We found them and they found us,
And now they are ours and we're so happy!"
{Thank you pronoun!!}
You see, a pronoun was made to take the place of a noun.
'Cause saying all those nouns over and over
Can really wear you down.
Sometimes when we take them all on the bus,
People really raise a fuss.
They start shouting out loud pronouns at us, like:
"*Who* brought that rhinoceros on the bus?" and
"*What* made that horrible noise?" and
"Which one of 'em's getting off first?"
"Who", "what" and "which" are special pronouns
That can ask a question
In the sense where you do not know the name of the noun.
But I know!
I have mine and she has hers and he has his,
Do you have yours?
They love us and we love them.
What's ours is theirs, that's how it is with friends.
And pronouns, you are really friends. Yeah!
'Cause saying all those nouns over and over
Can really wear you down.